Insert Witty Title Here (TBD)
by KaylieElizabeth
Summary: Aurora, the daughter of Xander and Anya, discovers something about herself that ties the Sunnydale and Storybrooke together forever. This is my first attempt at writing fan fiction so work with me. It's written like a novel in the third person, but the way scenes take place between brief descriptions of where we are in the series, it comes off a bit like a screenplay. It's choppy.
1. Chapter 1

**Somewhere during Season 5 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer,**

there were things you didn't hear about and this is where we begin.

 **Chapter One**

Willow and Tara enter the room, hand in hand, Buffy and Dawn following closely behind. Xander sits beside the bed, hand desperately clenching Anya's.

"How is she?" Tara asks quietly, putting her other hand on Xander's shoulder.

"Ok," Xander replies. "The doctor just told me her condition is stable. Whatever the hell that means."

"Did the doctor ask you any more questions about the accident?" Dawn begins. "Or about papers or anything proving she..."

"Dawn!" Buffy scolds.

"No, I tried to avoid the subject. What am I going to say? She is my 1,000 year old gir..." Xander pauses and strokes Anya's fingers with his own. "The doctors are running more tests. The nurse said they should be able to tell us more after they get her blood work back…. She lost a lot of blood." Xander chokes and fights back tears.

"She's tough, Xander," Buffy says as she sits down next to him, holding his other hand. "She's tough, she's brave, she did this trying to save an innocent human being." Buffy pauses, "We're all here for you. I wish I could say everything will all be ok."

"Yeah, but if it's not?" Xander snaps. "I know we've had our problems over the past year, but she… she's my everything."

"I know," Buffy comforts Xander, squeezing his hand. "And you're hers."

The room gets quiet as everyone looks to Anya.

The door opens, breaking the silence. The nurse arrives with a folder of papers and places them in a plastic compartment attached to the hospital bed. "We finally have news!" She says excitedly. "And I don't think you'll be upset to hear it! We're waiting for the doctor."

The doctor enters the room where there seems to be a sense of calm since the nurse arrived in such high spirits. "Mr. Harris," the doctor begins, "we have very reassuring news. All of your wife's tests came back fine. She will recover fully. Everything is in order, all of her blood work came back fine, her blood transfusion was successful, no internal organs were severely harmed. She is very strong. With rest, she is going to be fine."

The room erupts in sighs of relief and hugs. The doctor and nurse smile and look to Xander. The nurse chimes in with a big smile, "And, Mr. Harris, I'm sure you'll also be very happy to know that all the ultrasounds came back wonderfully." Xander looks puzzled, but not at all disturbed as he lays his head on top of Anya. The doctor and the nurse prepare to leave. The nurse opens the door and just as they are walking out the doctor adds, "You really have no need to worry anymore, your wife and baby are going to be just fine."

The door shuts as every eye opens wide and looks to Xander.

"Baby?!" Willow asks surprised and excited.

"Baby?" Xander echoes.

 **Chapter Two**

"What? Anya never… Baby?" Xander contemplates aloud. He's now the only one in the room, aside from Anya. Xander looks down at Anya's abdomen. "I'm going to be a dad?"

The nurse walks into the room. "How are we doing, Mr. Harris?"

Xander, looking frazzled, looks up from Anya to the nurse. He can only muster up one word. "Baby?"

"Why yes, Sir. And a very healthy one at that. The heart rate, despite your wife's blood loss, is very strong."

"How far along?"

"About 2 months. Were you not aware, Mr. Harris?"

"No, ma'am. Anya never mentioned…" Xander pauses and breathes deeply. "But it's healthy?" Xander smiles.

"Yes, Sir." The nurse responds reassuringly. "I'm going to leave you two alone."

As the nurse leaves, Xander lies his head back on Anya's abdomen and ponders.

After a few more hours by her side, Anya begins to stir, coughs, moves her arms and finally opens her eyes. "Anya? Baby, can you hear me?" Xander whispers, nose to her nose.

"Yeah." Anya replies faintly. Xander kisses her.

After the doctors receive word Anya is awake, they call everyone from the waiting room. Buffy and Willow enter. "Anya! You're ok!" Willow exclaims. "We're glad you're ok," Buffy adds. "How are you feeling?" Dawn chimes in.

"Ok." Anya replies, slightly disoriented, looking around the room. She looks to Xander, "Did we? Is everything…?"

"We did, it's over. You're safe. We're safe." Xander reassures Anya, taking her hand in his and kissing it.

"Mrs. Harris, we're so happy to have you back with us. Unfortunately, we're going to have to keep you here at least one more night for observations," the nurse says to Anya, writing something in her file folder.

"Anya, is there…?" Xander begins.

"Mrs. Harris," the nurse interrupts, "we want to run just one more ultrasound to make sure everything is ok. We want to make sure the baby is safe before we can discharge you." The nurse says tucking the file folder beside the bed and leaving the room.

Xander's eyes widen and look to Anya, along with Buffy and Willow's.

Anya grabs Xander's hand and places it over her abdomen. She smiles. "Surprise, Daddy."


	2. Chapters Three-Seven

*In this edition, "Charmed" comes in a bit. The crossover was only letting me choose two television shows to put in the title. I'm not sure if I have to put any copyright type stuff up in that case so it goes: I don't own these characters or these shows. I'm just a fan who likes imagining fan fiction. The end.

Bumping our way up to Season 7 of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"

 **Chapter Three**

Xander walks out of Aurora's bedroom and quietly shuts the door behind him. "She's not feeling so great. Did Anya say what time she is coming back?"

"No, she and Giles were going to go meet with some old acquaintances to try to find out more 'Firsty-like' info. Does she want Mommy instead?" Willow asks with a giggle.

Xander smiles apologetically, knowing what he is about to confess might hurt her. "Yeah, Mommy does the trick when she isn't feeling well, but she actually still asks for someone else when sh..."

"Who does she..." Willow stops, realizes what Xander is implying and catches her breath. "Yeah, I still ask for her, too."

"Do you wanna try making her feel better? She's had her medicine. Now, it's just a matter of who can get her to fall asleep."

"I can try, but I can't promise I won't fall apart, too."

Willow opens Aurora's door. "How ya feelin', little one?"

"Aunt Willow?" Aurora asks from the dark of her bed. Willow makes her way over and sits next to Aurora, gently putting her hand on Aurora's forehead. "I know I'm not who you're looking for exactly, but I can tell you from personal experience, Aunt Tara loves you a lot. She would want to be right here beside you."

Outside of Aurora's room, Anya and Giles walk in the apartment. "Anything worth noting?" Xander asks, not expecting much. "Nothing we didn't already know," Anya replies. "Where's the baby? Is she feeling better?"

"Willow is in there trying to get her to go to sleep now. I tried, but I am not Mommy or Aunt Tara," Xander responds.

Giles sits down at the table and looks at Xander, "She still asks for Tara?"

"Yeah, generally when she doesn't feel well."

"I'll take care of her if Willow doesn't get her to sleep," Anya interjects, placing tea water in the kettle on the stove. "Where are the girls? Wasn't Buffy supposed to bring them over?"

"She wanted to wait until you two got back. I'll give her a call."

Willow walks out of Aurora's room. "She finally drifted."

"Ok, Thank God," Xander responds, walking over to grab the telephone.

Anya grabs the whistling kettle quickly off the stove, hoping Aurora doesn't wake up. With all of the craziness, neither one of them has slept a full night in days. Anya is afraid Aurora is going to keep getting sick if she doesn't sleep. She pours tea for everyone at the table and sits down. "Did she fight you much to fall asleep?"

"No, actually, not at all," Willow responds.

"How are you holding up?" Xander asks, placing his hand on Willow's shoulder.

"Ok. I know I've moved on, but it hits hard when she asks for her. I don't know what to tell her, other than I want her back, too." Willow is able to respond, but not without tears welling in her eyes.

Trying to change the subject, Giles chimes in, "Buffy is bringing girls over here?"

"Yeah," Xander answers still rubbing Willow's shoulder, "her house is getting a bit crowded."

"I'd venture to say that's a smart idea," Giles responds. Just as he finishes, Buffy opens the door and a small crowd of Potential Slayers follow behind her, each carrying a small suitcase, some with pillows and blankets. As they begin organizing their things in the living room, Buffy sits down at the table with her friends.

"Guys, keep it down. Aurora is sleeping," Buffy quickly advises the Potentials.

"Anya, do we get to play with her tomorrow?" Molly asks, perking up at the tot's name.

"Yeah, sure. Hopefully, she'll be a little less cranky for you. She's been feeling a little icky lately."

"It seems to be going around," Buffy adds.

Just because Faith needs to make an appearance, I felt the need to throw Aurora in this scene...

 **Chapter Four**

The following week in the Summers' house, the kitchen is momentarily filled with a period of silence as Faith sits on the island in the middle of the kitchen. Kennedy stands by the sink and Amanda waits in the doorway leading to the dining room. The room is filled with a bit of frustration... no new info on the First, impending apocalypse, all around badness. The girls hear steps coming from the living room and into the kitchen. Aurora appears in the doorway in her pajamas. Amanda smiles at her. "Hi, Cutie!"

Faith turns around. Aurora and Faith have not yet had the opportunity to meet face-to-face. Aurora smiles as she climbs up onto one of the island stools. "Hi, Faith."

Faith turns to look at Kennedy. "This is Xander and Anya's, right?" Kennedy nods. "Hi," Faith responds, turning back to Aurora. Aurora continues to smile at Faith. "What are you doing in here?" Faith asks.

"You don't look scary to me," Aurora begins.

"Wow. Direct. She is Anya's child," Faith says to Amanda and Kennedy. Kennedy and Amanda giggle.

"Where is Mommy?" Aurora asks Faith.

"I think she is working with some of the potentials downstairs."

Faith looks awkwardly to Kennedy, not knowing what to say to such a small, curious creature.

Kennedy walks across the kitchen to Aurora's stool and picks her up. "I'll tell you what. Let's go get some cartoons set up for you in Aunt Willow's room. Does that sound good?"

"Yeah!" Aurora responds to Kennedy. Kennedy leaves the kitchen with Aurora, leaving Amanda and Faith. Faith smiles and adds, "So, when do I get to tell her I took her dad's virginity?"

 **Chapter Five**

Later in the day, Aurora is curled up on Willow's bed, eyes drifting, laptop with cartoons playing in front of her. The door opens and Xander walks in. "Hey, Baby Girl!" Xander exclaims enthusiastically. "How are you?"

"Good," Aurora replies as Xander comes over to sit beside her. He kisses her forehead and lifts her into his arms. "Let's go home."

Xander carries Aurora down the stairs and passes her to Anya. Anya wraps her sweater around Aurora as Xander runs into the kitchen of the Summers' house. "Buf, we're going to take Aurora home. You need anything else?"

"No, we're ok. I'll call if anything comes up. Thanks, Xander."

At Xander and Anya's apartment, Aurora is sound asleep on Xander's shoulder as they walk in the door. "Wow, I can't remember the last time it was just the three of us here," Xander says as he turns on the dim kitchen lights. Looking to Anya, he says, "do you think she'll actually stay asleep if I put her down now?"

"You can give it a shot. Doubt it though." Anya kisses the toddler on the head as Xander walks her into her room. After merely a few minutes, Xander comes back out. "That was it?" Anya asks. "Surprisingly, yeah," Xander responds, wrapping his arms around Anya's waist. The two kiss.

Kissing, they make their way over to the comfy chair and cuddle up together. As Anya falls asleep, Xander is haunted by the thought of how often he will continue to get to have blissful nights like these.

 **Chapter Six**

Xander barely closes his eyes before the telephone rings. Drearily, he sits up to answer the phone, waking Anya up along the way. "Hello?"

"Hey, Xander."

"Willow? Hey. What's going on?"

"According to the locator spell, there is one more potential slayer left in Sunnydale. It's faint, but we see something, or someone. We're going to go check it out."

"Did you need me?" Xander asks groggily, hoping the answer is 'no.'

"No, but you're on-call. If the girls need anything, I told Kennedy to call you guys first," Willow responds. "Ok, no problem," Xander says hanging up the phone.

"Everything ok?" Anya asks. "Yeah, they're going to find another potential. I, on the other hand, am going back to sleep." Anya smiles as she lays her head back on Xander's chest.

What feels like only minutes later, they hear a knock on the door. "Baby, did you lock that?" Xander asks Anya.

"I think so," Anya replies as she musters up the energy to crawl off the chair and open the door.

Buffy and Willow burst in. "What?" Xander asks, sounding slightly alarmed.

"Are any of the potentials here?" Buffy asks.

"No, they're all at your house," Xander replies.

Buffy and Willow look confusingly at each other and back at the enchanted map.

"What's going on? Did you find the girl?" Xander asks, sitting up.

"She's in this building," Willow replies, eyes not leaving the map.

Anya walks over to look at the map with Buffy and Willow. They sit the map on the counter top. "Xander, do you have floor plans of the building?" Buffy asks quickly.

"Yeah, Buf, but as far as I know there are no teenage girls living here. Or teenagers at all for that matter." Xander replies.

Just as Xander finishes, he hears giggling coming from his daughter's room. Anya walks over and opens the door. She sees Aurora sitting up in her bed. "Are you ok, Baby?" Anya asks.

"Yeah," Aurora responds. "Mommy, there's a bug." Anya smiles and walks over to the child. "I'm glad you love bugs so much, Baby, but you really need to get some sleep. I don't want you to get sick again." Outside her room, Aurora hears Buffy and Willow's voices. "Is Aunt Buffy here?"

"Yeah, they're checking something with Daddy."

"Can I say 'hi?'" Aurora asks.

"Ok, but you have to promise you will get some sleep. Mommy is worried you're going to get sick if you don't get some rest." Anya scoops the girl up and carries her on her hip to Buffy and Willow.

"Hey!" Willow says with a smile as she finally takes her eyes off of the map. She walks over and takes Aurora from Anya's hip to her own. "Hi, Aurora," Buffy says, rubbing the tot's arm, but still not taking her eyes off of the map.

Xander begins searching the cupboards for blue prints of the apartment complex. Anya stares at the map with Buffy, not quite sure what she is supposed to be looking for. "Is this spell anything like the one before? Shouldn't you be able to see the girl? Isn't she marked or whatever like we thought Dawn was."

"Aunt Willow," Aurora interrupts, "will you tuck me back in? There's a big bug with a light in my room. It keeps trying to land on me."

Buffy jerks her head off of the map. Xander turns around and stops his search. Anya freezes.

"A light?" Willow asks, looking at Aurora.

Now it's coming together... Enter "Charmed"

 **Chapter Seven**

Piper and Paige kneel down to Wyatt. "You'll do fine, baby," Piper smiles to Wyatt. Paige grabs his hand. Wyatt gives a nervous smile and turns to look to the room. This is his first day of a "normal" pre-school... in Sunnydale. The elders asked Paige to orb him to school there, but would not say why. Piper looks to Paige as they stand up, watching Wyatt walk hesitantly into the classroom.

As they leave the room, Piper adds, "Wait, let's just watch for a minute."

"Piper, don't you think you're a little too worried? He can control his powers. We all agreed on this," Paige reassures her.

"Worrying is what I do. Magic school is one thing, but, as much as I want him to have a normal life, putting my magical child into a world of non-magical kids in a completely different city all because people that live in the clouds told us to..."

As they walk out the main door, they turn to peak through the window. Wyatt is sitting quietly by himself in the corner of the room, blankly staring at an open book. "Look, he's clearly uncomfortable," Piper says, keeping her eye on her baby.

"Give him time to adjust. It's new," Paige responds.

As they watch the classroom scene unfold, Aurora and Anya enter the room.

Aurora stands as close as possible to Anya's leg, clenching her hand. "It's ok, Baby," Anya says leaning down to Aurora's ear. Aurora looks up with tears welling in her hazel eyes. "Aunt Zooey is right down the hallway if anything happens. Ok?" Anya strokes Aurora's curly blonde hair. "Give it try, Sweetie." Anya kisses Aurora on her forehead and Aurora turns to the room.

"It's always best to let them go quickly. If you hang around, they tend to have a harder time letting you go." The teacher, or at least Anya assumes she's the teacher, says. She never really introduces herself. Anya's terrified to let her baby go. They've been through some situations. Situations no other toddler could quite relate to. At least, that is what she has always thought.

Aurora wanders into the far corner of the room. She has never liked large crowds and has never really spent time with a lot of other children her age. In the corner, there is only one other boy who seems to be focusing on his book. She sits in a pink bean bag chair and picks up a book with fish on the cover. She looks up at the boy sharing the corner with her. They make brief eye contact and both look back down to their books. Aurora notices something. She doesn't know what it is, but she feels an instant connection with this boy. This is different for her. Being the only child and growing up with all adults, even though she is still a toddler, she has never bonded with other kids easily. The boy walks over and hands her another book with a big smile.

Aurora's hand brushed Wyatt's and sparks flew. Literally. A small flame brushed between their tiny hands. Paige and Piper, watching from the window, both run simultaneously back toward the door.

"Um, what the hell just happened?" Paige says to Piper as they open the school doors. "I don't know, but I'm hoping no one else saw."

As they approach the classroom door, Anya is staring through the window.

"Hi, uh, did the teacher already start?" Piper asks Anya. Anya looks nervously through the window. "Yeah, but I'm looking to give... give something to my daughter. She forgot her... her snack." Anya is generally so blunt, coming up with a white lie feels very forced. "Yeah, my nephew too," Paige replies. "I don't think the teacher will let us back in. She pushed me out pretty quickly after I dropped Aurora off," Anya finishes. Looking through the window together, all three of them keep a close eye on Aurora and Wyatt. "Which one is yours?" Piper asks Anya. Anya smiles nervously and points to Aurora in the corner, next to Wyatt. "The little curly blonde."

"That's Wyatt next to her," Paige responds. As they talk, the three don't make eye contact. They continue to stare at the toddlers. They all saw the flame and are all hoping the others didn't.

Aurora and Wyatt continue to sit side by side, both holding either side of the book, while the teacher begins to talk from the corner of the room. Wyatt looks over to Aurora curiously and reaches for her hand. Another spark flies from his hand as he touches her. One blue spark, with a red tip. They both look at each other and let out a little giggle.

Paige, Piper and Anya, all jaws dropped, pull away from the window. Piper and Paige make eye contact, not sure what to say. "That was some static," Paige outbursts, laughing uncomfortably. "It must have been a long time since those books have been used." Piper and Anya look back in, only to see Wyatt orbing another book over to him and Aurora.

"Wyatt!" Piper yells through her teeth. Aurora and Wyatt look up. Aurora smiles and waves.

Piper and Anya finally make eye contact, both worrying what the other is thinking.

Piper freezes the hallway. "Alright, why is she not freaking out?" "I don't know," Paige responds hopefully, "Maybe she's seen it before? She could be another witch."

"With our luck, she's a demon. And on top of that, good witches don't freeze," Piper snaps back. "Well, wait," Paige begins, "Wyatt walked right up to that little girl. If that's her daughter and she is evil, wouldn't the baby be evil too? He could always sense that. He didn't put up a shield."

"You can't know that! We've been burned before," Piper snaps back. Paige rolls her eyes. "Ugh, good point," Piper responds and unfreezes Anya. The three stand in awkward silence for a several seconds.

The door cracks open and Aurora's face appears. "Mommy! I did make a friend!" Just as she finishes, the teacher comes over and grabs the door. "Sorry, parents. You have to leave. It's never easy to let them go, but they can't adjust if you don't."

Just as she begins to close the door, Aurora whispers, loud enough for Piper and Paige to hear, "he has powers too, Mommy!" The door closes and the three women stare at each other.

"Powers?" Piper echoes. "I told you it was possible," Paige responds. "Wait, you knew?" Anya interrupts. "Knew what?" Piper responds.

"It looks like we all might have some catching up to do," Paige concludes, grabbing Piper by the hand and signaling for Anya to follow them out of the building.


	3. Chapter Eight-Eighteen

**Chapter Eight**

After school with Aurora in Anya's arms and Wyatt holding hands between Paige and Piper, they walk out to the parking lot. "Well, why don't we take the kids to the park or something," Piper suggests.

"Ok," Anya replies.

Aurora and Wyatt sit together with ice cream on the bridge of the playground between connecting wooden jungle gyms. Piper, Paige and Anya are sitting at a table near by. "I can't even believe it. I take him out of magic school to attempt to give him a relatively normal life and the first friend he finds is supernatural," Piper says.

"Actually, I'm relieved," Anya replies.

"And what is she again?" Paige asks.

"She's a slayer. Or potential or something..." Anya answers. This declaration is mixed with both pride and frustration. She is happy her own daughter, after all she herself has done, is called to fight the forces of darkness; however, she doesn't want her baby to go through what Buffy has gone through.

"It's weird. I mean, we've heard of the slayer and we've heard rumors of potentials and such, but never actually knew it was true," Paige responds. "We shouldn't be surprised by this stuff anymore," Piper adds.

"How long have you known?" Paige asks. "Well," Anya begins, "We found out a few months ago. My husband has worked with Buffy, the Slayer. When they began looking for other potential slayers, Willow-"

"That's the witch from Sunnydale who went kinda crazy, right," Paige interrupts.

"Yeah, Aurora's 'Aunt.' Her and my husband have known each other since they were kids. Anyway, when Willow tried a spell to locate more potentials, Aurora was found. I didn't even think Slayers could be called to even be potentials, that is to start training to possibly take over, until they were teenagers. Aurora was not even two at the time. Then, shortly thereafter she started showing some interesting signs. Her strength, to start with."

"Her intelligence?" Paige questions. "I mean, for being so young, she is smart. I heard her talking to you and can't believe she is only two." Anya laughs, "Yeah, I don't really know what sort of magic is going on there. Definitely didn't get that from me."

Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season Seven near the Series Ends...

 **Chapter Nine**

"Here, Sweetie." Anya hands Aurora her favorite brand of chocolate milk to put in her backpack as they walk through the pre-school doors. "Hi!" They hear Wyatt yell from down the hall.

"I think my nephew has a thing for your daughter." Paige and Anya laugh as the toddlers hug. Anya crouches down and kisses Aurora. "Feeling better?"

"Yeah." Aurora smiles and kisses Anya. Together, Wyatt and Aurora walk into the classroom and put their backpacks in the same cubbie.

"I'm so glad she made a friend," Anya begins. "She is generally so shy and I can't pry her off of my leg."

"I think Wyatt feels the same way. It was beyond bizarre to fall into the magical realm in my 20's. I can only imagine what it feels like to grow up around it."

"They probably will never know any different," Anya pauses. "Still not so sure how I feel about that."

 **Chapter Ten**

Paige wakes up early the next morning. She rolls out of bed with much more gusto than usual and begins to search for clothes. It's always great to find someone in the mortal world who understands magic.

"Piper, are the boys almost ready?" Paige hears Phoebe yell from the hallway. "I need to get to work early."

Paige meets Phoebe in the hall. "What's up?"

"Nothing, I just have to get to an editing meeting," Phoebe replies waiting by the bathroom door.

"Any chance a certain guy might be there?" Paige asks cheekily. "Maybe." Phoebe responds smiling.

Piper opens the bathroom door, Chris in her arms and Wyatt holding her hand. "We decided that brushing our teeth became an art form and that tooth paste belonged on the cabinets," Piper says sarcastically.

"Wyatt! You little trouble-maker," Paige says kneeling down to her nephew. "Do you want me to take them in? I actually want to talk to Aurora's mom a little more. I think it's so..."

Piper interrupts, "I agree, they are super nice people, but I don't want the kids to keep using powers together. How are we going to teach them that they can be magical little friends, but need to use their powers for business in fighting evil only? Preferably not in front of anyone."

"Calm down, Mom," Paige responds. "We will work something out."

Wyatt is already half way down the stairs as Piper and Paige follow behind. "Leo?" Piper yells out. "Can you find the boys' shoes? We're running a little behind."

Leo is already standing at the bottom of the stairs with two tiny pairs of shoes in his hands. "Already on it. What took you guys so long?"

"Your son decided to do some artwork on the bathroom walls," Piper replies smiling and rolling her eyes.

As Piper takes Chris' shoes and Leo helps Wyatt, Leo looks up to Paige as she grabs the boys' bags and says, "Paige, did the elders contact you yet?"

"What about?"

"I don't know, but apparently they need something. I'm not allowed to know these things anymore. Maybe a charge?"

"I'll get to them later."

Paige helps Wyatt with his backpack and takes his hand. "I'll orb him in, make sure he knows not to use magic and make sure he eats his broccoli and makes good choices."

"Cute." Piper responds unenthusiastically.

 **Chapter Eleven**

Paige sits at the kitchen table, rubbing her temples and sighing.

"Are you ok?" Piper asks.

"There's that ringing again. It's the elders."

Leo chimes in, "Paige, that's usually a charge. Have you tried to follow it yet? I told you they have been asking for you."

"No, I thought we were ignoring the elders."

"A charge isn't the elders. Someone may need you. Maybe you should follow it."

Paige looks up, annoyed. "I don't know if I can handle anything else at the moment."

"Go," Piper begins, "We got things here. Go see if you have a new charge. Really. It could help you take your mind off of things."

Paige takes a deep breath and orbs out of the kitchen.

When she materializes, she is standing in a dark cemetery. It's hot with a warm night breeze beginning to blow. "Where the hell...?" She looks around. "Ok, there is no one here! Why did you send me here!?" She looks up to the sky, yelling to the elders. She gets no response.

Paige begins to walk and look at tombstone names. Nothing is making sense or ringing any bells. She is definitely no longer in San Francisco. It's too hot to be Northern California. The cemetery is eerily quiet. "I guess that's a good thing," Paige whispers to herself under her breath. Suddenly, she hears a car passing rapidly through the cemetery and crouches down behind a tombstone. As the car drives past, she hears the radio announcer mention, "... here in Sunnydale, California!"

"Sunnydale?" She says to herself. "Wyatt's pre-school?" Just as she thinks of her nephew, she hears a noise coming from behind one of the crypts. She stays low and follows the sound, hoping it is coming from something human and not demonic. As she approaches the end of the crypt, she hears crying... definitely human. Young human... "Hello?" Paige whispers. The crying stops and she hears a gasp.

"No, it's ok!" She walks around the corner and sees a tiny figure in the light. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"That's what all vampires say."

"I'm not a...wait? Vampire?"

"Leave me alone, please."

"I'm here to help." The figure proceeds to stand up. It's definitely a child. A little one at that.

"Why are you out here alone, Sweetie? Shouldn't you be with a grown-up?"

"Not right now."

"What is your name?"

After a long pause, Paige walks a little to the child, cautious that she isn't being deceived by something or someone demonic.

The child takes a deep breath and sniffles one more time, "I'm Aurora."

Paige finally sees the girl's face in the light. "Aurora? Aurora! You're in Wyatt's class, right? I'm Wyatt's Aunt, Paige. Do you remember me?"

Aurora nods. "Why are you here?"

"Well, did you... I don't... You're not a witch, right?"

"No."

"Then, I don't know why I'm here either." Paige sees the tears on the girl's face and adds, "How about I sit with you?" Paige sits on the stoop of the crypt. Aurora remains standing, slightly suspicious, slightly annoyed that someone interrupted her runaway.

"Why are you out here alone? Where is your mom? Or your dad? Anyone that should be keeping an eye on you?" Aurora remains silent.

"Are you hurt? Or lost? Or did some...?"

"No!" Aurora finally responds firmly.

The two remain in the cemetery in silence. Aurora finally gets tired and sits down beside Paige, leaving just enough distance between them to express her frustration. Aurora begins to cry again just as Paige's temples start to flare with pain.

" _Guide her wisely."_ Paige hears a voice in the back of her head.

"What?" Paige says aloud, startling the toddler next to her.

Ignoring the terrifying question looming in her head for a moment, she slides over and sits next to Aurora. "Please, talk to me," Paige says, putting her arm around the girl. Just as she asks to help the child, the throbbing in her temples disappears.

The two sit in silence for a moment. Paige contemplating what is happening with the elders and Aurora sniffling, finally falling into Paige embrace. Aurora takes a deep breath. "Daddy is hurt. Bad. I'm scared. I don't want to be a slayer anymore."

After sitting with Aurora for awhile, Paige returns to the manor after orbing Aurora to Buffy's house; surprisingly, directly into the room she sneaked out of without notice.

"Leo!"

"Did you meet her? Did you get a charge?" Leo asks as he and Piper come running into the kitchen at Paige's blunt request.

"Her? How do you know its a her?" Piper asks her husband.

"I have the same question and then some," Paige says.

"When I got assigned to be your charge, the elders told me you had a charge coming along, a young girl. That's all I heard, honestly."

"Well, did they mention _how_ young?! This kid is Wyatt's age!"

"What?!" Piper asks.

"Yeah, even in his class. I orbed all the way to Sunnydale! It's the little girl we met, the slayer? His little magical friend! Ringing any bells, Leo?!"

"Aurora?"

"Yeah, I found her crying in a cemetery, alone. On top of that, she isn't a witch. Is she?" Paige and Piper both look to Leo.

"Well," Leo begins, "occasionally whitelighters are called to guide certain other beings with great powers and destinies."

"What does that mean? I'm not good enough to be called to guide another witch?"

"No, actually quite the opposite. The elders only assign special cases to special whitelighters."

"Oh," Paige says relieved with a smile.

"Why so young?" Piper adds.

"I'm not sure. Did you talk to her parents at all?"

"No, she was pretty frazzled. I didn't want to push. I didn't even tell her I'm her whitelighter. As far as I know, no one even knew she was out. Her father is in the hospital. She said he's hurt pretty bad. Something with his eye..."

"What are you going to do?" Piper asks.

"Well, help her. Somehow. I don't know. I'm not sure exactly what that entails," she takes a deep breath. "That'll be a problem for future Paige. Now, I need to get some sleep."

Sadly, Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Seven has come to an end...

Anya is dead. After helping to save Sunnydale and losing Anya, Xander decided to help Buffy round up slayers in Europe. Knowing it was still dangerous for Aurora, he decided to leave her for what he thought would be a few days in capable hands.

 **Chapter Twelve**

"Leo, I need to talk to you," Paige says entering the kitchen.

"Sure," Leo replies. Paige looks around, "Anyone here?"

"No, Piper ran into the club and the boys are asleep."

"Ok, you broke the rules by marrying your charge, right?" Paige asks bluntly. "Yeah?" Leo replies confused. "Well, after everything that has happened, I can't stand to see Aurora in the pain she's in. I orb down to her several times a day and I know she's in good hands, but she's not even in a family... she's just living at that Law Firm, switching offices for attention. And she's not just my charge, she's a child. And I fell in love with this kid, in a different way than you and your charge, of course, but..."

"You want to do something more for her?" Leo concludes...

"Yeah... I was actually thinking of maybe... becoming more than just her whitelighter. I mean after being adopted myself..."

"You want to adopt Aurora?!"

"Or something," Paige replies coy. "I know it may sound crazy, but I just have this inner presence, or urge, or something... She lost the only family she knows. Her and Wyatt are already close. Maybe just foster her or something until. She is just so...," Paige pauses. "What do you think the elders would do?"

"You already know my opinion on what they think. I mean, yeah, it could make being her whitelighter a little more difficult, especially if you become more like a parental figure. Look at what happened to you girls after I joined the family."

"Hey!" Paige interrupts. She begins to think. "What if I can just stay that "cool auntie" figure?"

Leo laughs. "Have you talked to your sisters yet?"

"No, I'm still not sure. I was also debating whether or not I should talk to her about it. I mean, she is young, but she is very aware of what's going on. It wouldn't be forever either. Her father is still alive, currently M.I.A. chasing others slayers for the greater good. And wouldn't stability be able to help her do her job better anyway? Something I should care about as her whitelighter."

Leo shrugs, "Probably."

Paige smiles. "You know what..." Paige smiles and walks toward the door.

"You've got my support," Leo smiles as Paige looks back. "It could be fun having a little girl around."

 **Chapter Thirteen**

Paige orbs out of the Prescott Street Manor in San Francisco and into the 17th floor of the Wolfram and Hart Law Offices in Los Angeles. Aurora has a tiny room across from Angel's where she is temporarily living. Xander is missing and no one has been able to find or contact him.

"Aurora?" Paige knocks on the door. "Paige!" Aurora responds through the door with excitement. Paige opens the door and Aurora runs into her arms. "Hey Sweetie! What have you been up to today?"

"I don't know. Everyone is busy working. No one wants to play with me so I came up to color. I'm really bored," Aurora responds in one quick breath. Although missing her mother, Paige thinks Aurora is doing exceptionally well under the circumstances.

"How about you come spend the day with me? I wanna talk to you about something." Paige asks with Aurora still in her arms. "Ok!" Aurora smiles. Paige pulls the toddler a little closer and the two orb out of the building.

Aurora is now temporarily living with the Halliwells.

 **Chapter Fourteen**

Aurora tries to keep everything together as the tears well in her eyes. She makes it to the bathroom without anyone seeing, shuts the door, slinks down into a corner and begins to sob. She can't take it anymore.

"Paige." She musters up the strength to say as she wipes a tear off her face. "Paige?" She repeats a little louder.

Within seconds, brilliant blue lights begin to swirl in front of her and Paige appears. "Sweetie, what's wrong? What happened?" Paige crouches down to cuddle Aurora. Aurora can barely find the strength to hug back. "It's ok. It's ok." Paige suddenly realizes they are in the bathroom of the pre-school, the doors of which are not very thick.

In a shining swirl of light, Paige cradles Aurora home to the manor and sits her on the couch. Aurora is still in tears. "Ok, baby, can you tell me what's wrong?"

Aurora tries to take a deep breath as she explains. "I keep hearing and see.." Aurora pauses and collapses in tears on Paige's lap. "I can't... I saw..."

 **Chapter Fifteen**

Aurora walks down Prescot Street, hand-in-hand with Paige. San Francisco is much different than Los Angeles, and Sunnydale for that matter. Aurora is not at all a fan of cold weather. Today, some sort of construction is going on down the street so Paige had to park a little further from the manor than normal. Wyatt is away at a friend's house today so it is just Aurora coming back from school. A little tired and in a bit of a daze, Aurora hears Paige say, "I wonder who that is on the front porch?"

Aurora looks up to see a woman waiting on the front porch. She has dirty blonde hair, wearing jeans and a dressy black top. Aurora recognizes the face, but can't seem to put it together with a name. As they get closer, Aurora gets nervous. She doesn't know or understand why, but something doesn't feel right about this woman. She holds Paige's hand a littler tighter.

They walk up the stairs to the front door of the manor as Paige pipes up, "Hi! Who are you looking for?" After yelling, she realizes she didn't even stop to consider if the woman could have been a demon or not. Getting a little nervous, Paige reciprocates a tighter grip on Aurora's hand, ready to orb her somewhere safe if necessary.

"I know you!" Aurora yells out of the quiet.

The woman turned around, looking slightly confused. Then, a wave a realization hit her and revealed upon her face. "You're Xander and Anya's little girl."

Paige, looking slightly confused, but trying to stay polite as she realizes this could be an ally, interjects with a handshake and a, "Hi, I'm Paige."

"Amy?" Aurora tries to recall the name.

"Yeah."

"Is my daddy in trouble? And, where's Aunt Willow?" Aurora begins to fire off questions about her Sunnydale family.

Paige interrupts, seeing the flustered look on Amy's face, "Let's go talk about this inside."

Paige opens the door and leads Aurora in. Still hand-in-hand with Paige, she doesn't take her eyes off of Amy. "What happened?" Aurora repeats. Paige picks Aurora up and says, "How about we stop interrogating her and see what she wants." Paige leads Amy into the conservatory, Aurora's hazel eyes still glaring. "Is daddy ok?"

"He's fine. I haven't heard any bad news," Amy finally begins. "Actually," addressing Paige, "I didn't even know Xander's kid was here. I actually came looking for you and your sisters."

"Amy is a witch, too!" Aurora adds.

"Aurora, sweetie, why don't you go upstairs and play with your dolls?" Paige says, attempting to take the toddler out of the conversation. Aurora takes her eyes off Amy for the first time. "No, Paige. Please. I need to know what is going on. My daddy..."

"It's ok, Aurora, he's fine." Amy interrupts. "It's ok, Paige. She can stay. Look, Aurora, I'm so sorry to hear about your mom. And I know the last time you saw me, Willow probably told you some things about me. I'm not here about any of that."

"What were you looking for us for?" Paige asks.

"Well, none of Buffy's little pack has come up to San Francisco and we have a bit of a vampire issue in town. And from what I hear, it's one Buffy has dealt with in this past. And I'm not quite so sure they'd want to hear from me."

"Why wouldn't they want to hear from you? If there's vampire trouble, isn't that their job?" Paige asks puzzled.

"Yes and no. I made some mistakes and the last time I saw Willow, it didn't end well. That's why I think..." Amy pauses and points discreetly at Aurora.

"Aunt Willow said you did something bad."

"I know. And I'm sorry. I'm trying to help, Aurora. Honestly." Amy replies, looking Aurora in the eye.

Aurora takes a deep breath. "And you're sure Daddy is ok? Where is he?"

"Yes. The last I heard, all was fine. He is helping Buffy set up teams of slayers at every hot spot in the world, apparently," Amy responds.

"But you haven't actually talked to them, you said," Paige asks.

"No, but I've been keeping tabs through mutual allies, I'm not quite sure you could call them friends. They're people Willow and I knew from U.C. Sunnydale."

Jumping to the danger, Paige asks, "So what vampire trouble is there? We haven't heard anything. And how did you know to come to us?"

"You're the Charmed Ones. These vampires are powerful and since Buffy's gang hasn't made it up here, I knew I needed to tell someone who could handle themselves," Amy responds.

As Paige puts Aurora down on the floor, she asks, "And you said Buffy had dealt with these vampires before? Why are they even still alive?" Aurora stays close to Paige, still uneasy. Amy looks to Aurora and then to Paige, as if to gesture she didn't want Aurora to hear. "Aurora, Sweetie, let's go upstairs. I think Phoebe is up there. I'm sure she'll play dolls with you. PHEEBS!"

Phoebe comes down the stairs, "What? It's my day off. Why can't monsters understand that?" As she finishes her sentence, she realizes they have company. "I _mean_ , my boss, what a monster!"

"It's ok," Paige says with a gesture to Amy. "Can you play with Aurora for a little awhile?"

Aurora looks quickly from Amy to Paige. "Paige, it's ok. I'm a slayer, too!" Aurora says with a slight nagging sound in her high-pitched voice.

Phoebe walks over to Aurora, picks her up and holds her on her hip. "Yes, you are. But, like Wyatt, you're so little. And we want to keep it that way. And we want to keep you safe so you can fight monsters when you're older. Right now, you get to come play dolls with me." Phoebe says giving the toddler a big squeeze. Phoebe takes Aurora up the stairs so Paige and Amy can talk. From Phoebe's hip, Aurora glares at Amy as Phoebe carries her up the stairs.

"She's feisty. Turning into her mother," Amy says with a smile.

"Yeah, she gets especially puffed up when it involves her dad, Willow or Buffy," Paige answers.

"So, how did you get her?" Amy asks.

"It's a long story. I'll explain later. So where are these vampires?" Paige asks.

"They are in an old warehouse downtown."

"And Buffy's dealt with them before?"

"Yeah, which is another reason I thought going to them would be difficult. Spike... uhm... Well... Buffy... " Amy takes a deep breath, "Have you ever heard of a vampire named Drusilla?"

Amy follows Paige up the stairs to the attic. Opening the attic door, Paige says, "It really doesn't ring a bell. I mean, I was turned into a vampire once, but never met anyone named Drusilla. We've come across a few nests, but none like you're describing."

As they make their way over to the Book of Shadows, Phoebe enters the attic. "Hey! So what's up?"

"Where's Aurora?" Paige asks.

"She fell asleep in Wyatt's room."

"Ok. Amy would you like to explain?" Suddenly remembering they never met, "Oh yeah, sorry. Amy, this is my sister, Phoebe. Phoebe, this is Amy. She knows Buffy's gang and came with some vampire problems."

"Hi," Amy begins. "There is a vampire downtown who is 'collecting,' for lack of a better word, other vampires and I think they are going to try something nasty. Heading the campaign is a nutcase of a vampire named Drusilla. She was driven insane right before she became a vampire. She's extremely unpredictable."

"Aurora knows her?" Phoebe asks.

"I'm not sure how much she knows," Amy pauses. "See, Spike..."

"The hot blonde vampire?" Phoebe asks.

"Yes, that one. He dated Drusilla for over a century. I have a feeling if I call Buffy and the gang, Spike, well... I don't know what he'd do. If anything. They basically broke apart because of Spike and Buffy."

"I thought Buffy and Angel were a thing, the way Angel made it sound," Paige adds.

"Well, apparently she had a thing with both of them," Amy responds.

"I guess I'm not the only one who falls for demons," Phoebe chimes in.

"We'll do some research and check it out. See what we can do. Where did you say they were again?" Paige asks.

 **Chapter Sixteen**

Aurora comes gingerly down the stairs, taking one step at a time, holding on to the rail. Phoebe and Paige are sitting on the couch, Piper on the chair with the Book of Shadows on the coffee table between them.

"Paige?" Aurora pipes up from the bottom of the stairs as she makes her way over to the couch. "Where did Amy go?"

"She left, Sweetie."

"Where?"

"She had to go back to work," Phoebe responds as Aurora wanders over and is scooped up by Piper.

"Is Daddy ok?" Aurora asks for what feels like the umpteenth time. She has never been hurt or led astray by Amy, but she knows Willow had been. That's when Willow was turned into Warren. She still wasn't sure if she trusted everyone telling her everything was alright.

"There's nothing wrong with your Daddy. He's fine and I'm sure he misses you a lot," Piper says pulling the hair out of the toddler's eyes.

"Why can't you tell me?" Aurora asks, looking to Paige.

"Sweetie, it has nothing to do with you. We just want to keep you safe."

"I'm a slayer. I won't always be safe! Can you please tell me?"

"I don't see why we can't tell her," Piper chimes in. "Maybe she knows something about this vampire that Amy doesn't. She's a smart little thing."

"Yeah, but Amy said..." Paige begins.

"Yeah, but bigger picture... getting the work done," Phoebe adds.

Paige takes a deep breath. "Ok." She opens up the Book of Shadows and points to a picture of Drusilla and Darla and shows Aurora.

"I know her!" Aurora screams.

 **Chapter Seventeen**

"We've taken on vampires before. How hard can this group be?" Paige asks her sisters.

"I guess you're right. I mean, we have taken out a leader and a nest, but this group has been around and the slayer hasn't even taken them out," Phoebe says.

"I don't think its the entire group we need to worry about from how Amy and Aurora made it sound. I think it is just this ring leader. This Drusilla," Piper adds.

"Just go in with some vanquishing potions and fireballs?" Phoebe suggests.

"That seems too easy," Paige replies. "Maybe we should do some recon-type work first. Like orb in and see what the deal is."

Piper stands by the Book of Shadows, flipping rapidly through its pages. "Yeah, there is absolutely nothing else in the book. I give up. I go with Paige. She got turned into a vampire once."

"Alright, let's do it," Phoebe joins in.

"Do you think we need all three of us?" Piper asks. "I now have three tiny children I need to make lunch for."

"I'll be back and take Aurora off your hands, I promise," Paige adds just before her and Phoebe orb out of the room.

Phoebe and Paige materialize into a dark old building. It is very damp and smells musty. It's difficult to see. In the distance, there is a bright light that resembles a bonfire flame. The two, hands still joined, walk toward the fire, hiding behind rubble and old wood piles from the dilapidated building.

"There's an entire swarm of them!" Phoebe whispers to Paige. "If we want to do this now, this will definitely be a Power of Three thing. We'll need Piper's firepower and som..." Paige cuts Phoebe off, placing her hand over Phoebe's mouth. Drusilla walks into the mass of vampires. As she walks, every eye falls on her. The swarm silences and bows to the ground.

"Good pets. You are going to make me a princess," Drusilla begins. She walks around and looks at her minions.

"Does she just get off by having flunkies?" Paige whispers. This time, Phoebe places her hand over Paige's mouth.

"Yes, a princess," Drusilla continues. "I can feel it. I can wear a crown and have lots of pretty subjects to eat." She snaps to one of the vampires on his knees, "My people, not yours." A smile reemerges on her face. "Yes, I can feel it. It opens like a flower. A bright, shining, purple flower. To make me a princess. Find my flower."

Paige and Phoebe stare at one another. They remain a few more minutes behind the rubble, waiting for more information, something possibly more coherent to come from Drusilla. Nothing. Not another sound. Drusilla continues to dance sensually around her minions as Phoebe and Paige orb back to the Halliwell Manor and make their way into the kitchen to find Leo and Piper.

"What did you find?" Leo asks.

"Well, there is a whole pack of vampires and that Drusilla talking about some power... about being a princess," Paige begins.

"She was doing a whole lot of rambling, it was kinda hard to follow," Phoebe continues.

"Any word from the elders?" Piper asks.

"Not yet," Paige begins, "Or not..."

"They're calling?" Leo asks.

"Yeah, hold on." Paige orbs out.

An hour passes as Leo, Piper and Phoebe wait in the kitchen for Paige's return.

"Where the hell is she?" Piper begins. "The longer they make us wait, the more nervous I get. Phoebe, what did she say again? Maybe I can check the Book of Shadows."

"Like I said, she rambled a lot. Something about power and she wants to be a princess and whatever... Actually, in all honesty, she sounded like she was trying to start a cult. It was like she was just getting those other lugheads to worship her."

Paige orbs back in and interrupts mid-conversation. "She's picking up on a powerful curse."

"What?" Leo asks.

"The elders said there is a curse that has recently been broken on the other side of the country and it contains very powerful magic. It has altered the magic fabric in this world. She's been sensing it, tapping into it, trying to get magic for herself."

"Ok... what does that mean for us?" Phoebe asks.

"Actually, they said she is not our concern at the moment. Our kids are..." Paige says.

"What!?" Piper and Leo ask in unison.

"They want the kids to go to this town. Something about them being a solution?" Paige begins to get excited, "it's why Wyatt went to Sunnydale and why he met Aurora at school..."

"Not a chance in hell!" Piper says. "If this vampire chick is talking about its crazy magic, I'm not putting Wyatt or Aurora anywhere near that."

"On top of that," Leo adds, "Wyatt has already been sent to school in a completely different town on magical missions for them!"

"But, he met Aurora, my charge! They were right! It worked out! Please, hear me out. Let's give it a try."

After much convincing, Paige gets Piper and Leo to transfer Aurora and Wyatt to a pre-school in a small town called Storybrooke, Maine. Still not sure why they are wanted there, Paige decides to orb them there every morning until something reveals itself.

 **Chapter Eighteen**

Wyatt grabs Aurora's hand as he sees the nervousness in her eyes standing outside the school doors. He smiles at her. Aurora gives a weak smile back, but her nerves will not subside. _What am I supposed to do here?_ She thinks to herself. Wyatt opens the door to the classroom and enters. Aurora turns to look at Paige, standing in the doorway, but not able to walk any further.

"I don't want to," Aurora mutters to Paige. Paige kneels down to Aurora's level. "It's ok. I will be back to pick you up in a couple of hours. We just need to see what the elders want us to do here." Aurora tries to muster up the strength for a rebuttal, but can't seem to force any sounds out. _I guess I can't fight what good wants me to do._ She continues to think to herself, trying to recollect the strength she always admired in her Aunt Buffy. She steps into Paige's arms for one more hug before she walks through the door.

Just as she steps inside, she is greeted by a young woman. Aurora immediately feels comforted by this woman, particularly by that smile. "Hi, Sweetie. You're one of my new students, aren't you?"

Aurora nods with the same shy smile she showed earlier to Wyatt. "I'm Miss Dorinda. I am going to be one of your teachers. I see your cousin sat over there. Would you like to sit with him?" Aurora nods, turning to give Paige one more tight hug before running over to Wyatt.

"Thank you," Paige says to the teacher. Miss Dorinda smiles, "No problem. I could tell she was a little nervous. I'll keep an eye on her for awhile and let you know how she adjusts. I'm Dorinda, by the way. I'm one of the teachers for this room."

"I'm Paige, Wyatt's Au... Wyatt and Aurora's Aunt."

Since it would be Paige orbing the kids into school everyday, she decided to make Aurora her niece by default for this operation. Especially since this entire "plan" was hatched relatively last minute. A large, wholesome family that just relocated to Maine... why not? Then, Aurora also had the help and protection of another magical kid. However, orbing the two between Storybrooke, Maine and San Francisco, California is going to get a little irritating for all of them. Paige silently hopes that whatever the elders want will be done sooner rather than later and she can go back to simply driving her nephew to school and figure out a permanent situation for Aurora.

Aurora feels a bit more comfortable as the young teacher has often smiled, complimented her drawings and taken Aurora by the hand to show her around the classroom. Aurora sits down next to Miss Dorinda in a circle on the floor. Each student is sitting on a tiny pink mat. As Aurora and Wyatt are new, there is only one extra mat which was already given to Wyatt by another boy so Miss Dorinda shares her mat with Aurora.

As Miss Dorinda starts reading a book aloud, the door opens. "Look everyone!" She begins, "It's Mayor Mills! She is going to talk to us today about being a mayor. Remember last week when Joey's uncle came to talk to us about being a firefighter?"

"Yeah!" Some of the boys scream.

Regina makes her way over to the circle. "Good morning, kids," she says with a smile. "Here, Mayor Mills," Miss Dorinda begins as she stands up and gestures to her mat, "you can sit here in the circle."

As Regina sits down, Miss Dorinda adds, "Oh and we have two new students in our class that just started today. You are sharing a mat with one of them." Dorinda puts her hand on Aurora's shoulder, standing behind her and Wyatt. "This, here, is Wyatt and this is his cousin, Aurora."

Regina smiles, looking at the little girl. "What is your name?"

"Aurora."

Regina's smile gets a little bigger. "What a pretty name that is."

Regina finishes her story for the children and walks into the hallway while Dorinda concludes the class. She finds a secluded spot and pulls out her cell phone. She dials, waits and says nothing more than, "Guess who's finally in town?"


	4. Chapters Nineteen-Twenty-Nine

Paige allows Aurora to relocate to Storybrooke for a mission the elders have yet to tell, putting her under the protection of the Charming family until she meets Belle. We'll get to that in a bit.

 **Chapter Twenty-Four**

Aurora sits in a booth in Granny's Diner, across the table from Henry and next to Ruby. Henry plays his Gameboy, sipping hot cocoa while Ruby colors with Aurora in a coloring book. "Did my mom say when she would be back?" Henry asks, breaking the silence.

"No, she didn't. I'm not even sure what she is up to today."

"Are you doing anything else today?" Henry asks Ruby.

"Nope, just hanging with you two."

Aurora looks up and smiles at her, remaining silent. Aurora likes Ruby a lot. Her gentle, but strong demeanor actually reminds her of a lot of her Aunt Willow. Aunt Willow even dated a werewolf before she met Aunt Tara. Aurora smiles at the memory as she continues to color.

"I'll be right back, guys. I'm going to go grab my phone upstairs. Henry, can you keep an eye on her?"

Henry nods to Ruby. "What's so funny?" Henry asks Aurora as Ruby disappears through the doors to the Bed and Breakfast.

"Huh?" Aurora responds with a grunt.

"You were smiling at something."

"Just thinking."

"About what?"

"My Aunt Willow. Before I was born, she said she dated a werewolf, just like Ruby."

"What?!" Henry asks bewildered, but super interested.

"I never met him though. His name is Oz."

The two sit in silence for a moment as Henry continues to ponder the possibilities of more magic on this earth in different places. He looks to Aurora and sees she is lost in thought, staring at her coloring page blankly.

"You think about them a lot?" Henry asks.

"Yeah. It's just weird. We all lived in the same house at one point. My mom, my dad, my aunt... and now... I don't even know where my daddy is. If he is safe. If he remembers me..." Aurora trails off.

"Of course he would remember you," Henry reminds her reassuringly.

"What if he was cursed too?"

Henry, realizing nothing is impossible, remains quiet. "I'm sure someone will find your dad soon. We've got all sorts of powerful people in this town."

"Yeah... but I know they have more important things than me to worry about."

Henry, seeing the fear and frustration in Aurora's eyes, chimes in with a positive, "I'll talk to my mom tonight. Maybe she can start a big investigation. Finding people is what she does."

Aurora gives Henry a warm smile, but doesn't fully believe anything.

Ruby finally comes back through the door and slides in beside Aurora.

 **Chapter Twenty-Five**

Several days later, Granny is wiping off the main bar counter of the diner, while Ruby is busy opening up the cash register. As early as it is, the two don't talk much. The bell to the door chimes and the door opens slowly. A new man enters the diner. Granny and Ruby exchange glances as if to say, _I don't know him either._ "The diner doesn't open for another half an hour, sir," Granny says to the man.

"Actually, I'm here because I was told I could find my da..."

Just as the man is about to finish, the door from the Bed and Breakfast swings open. Aurora stands in the doorway. She gasps and screams, "DADDY!" She runs directly into Xander's arms.

Xander hasn't felt this much love for anyone or anything ever in his life. Seeing his daughter again, he tears up a little, keeping her in a tight embrace. Ruby watches and smiles. Xander, realizing he is in public, pulls himself together and hoists Aurora up onto his hip.

"Yes, this is what I was looking for," Xander says to Ruby and Granny with a smile, giving Aurora a kiss on the forehead. "This is my Daddy!" Aurora exclaims. She wraps her arms around his neck. "And he isn't dead and didn't forget who I am."

Ruby giggles. "It's nice to meet you. Xander, right?"

"Yes, and you are Ruby?"

Ruby nods as the two exchange glances and smiles. Aurora, too excited to notice, asks without hesitation, "Where were you, Daddy?"

"I... I was kidnapped. I don't know where I was."

"What?!" Granny asks. "By who?"

"Maybe 'kid' is the wrong word," Xander begins. "Maleficent. Whoever this woman is that is after my girl... Long story short, I never made it to your Aunt Buffy to help gather other slayers and I have been filled in about this town, and you, my little princess, more than I care to know."

"So, you know who we are?" Ruby asks.

"Yep, uh, Little Red Riding Hood, right?"

Ruby nods.

"I knew another werewolf once. Good guy. You've heard about our supernatural history, I'm assuming?"

Ruby giggles with a polite smile. "Yeah, you've got quite the talented talker in that little one."

Granny chimes in, "Do you need a place to stay in town? I can set you up here."

"Actually, yeah. That would be great. I'm not really sure what to do next. They just dropped me off here and said I could find her inside."

"They?" Ruby asks.

"The two that found me."

Just as Xander finishes, the 'two that found him _'_ walk in. Emma and Henry shut the door behind them with another loud chime of the doorbell. Emma smiles at Aurora and pushes her curly hair out of her face. "Told you we would find him," Henry says.

Aurora motions for Xander to put her down and she runs over to Henry and gives him a long, tight hug. "Thank you."

"So, what do we do about this Maleficent character?" Xander asks.

"You just got in," Granny begins, "Go and get you and your daughter settled in upstairs and we'll talk about that later." Granny ushers Xander through the door. He turns around and sees Aurora still hugging Henry and holding Emma's hand. "Comin' Baby?"

Aurora nods, smiles at Emma and Henry and runs to take Xander's hand.

After the Bed and Breakfast door shuts behind them, Ruby pipes up, "How did you find him?"

"Long story," Emma sighs. "We'll have to collaborate with Regina on this one. That Maleficent..."

They all three stare at the door Xander and the tot exited from in silence.

Ruby smiles to Emma and says quietly, "He's cute!" Emma smiles and nods as Ruby giggles and Henry rolls his eyes.

 **Chapter Twenty-Six**

Standing in the middle of Granny's Diner, Regina, Emma, Snow, Charming, Grumpy, Blue, Ruby, Granny and Belle all go back and forth about Maleficent's possible plans while Xander and Aurora are asleep upstairs.

The arguing begins to get a little louder. Aurora, not being able to sleep at all, comes downstairs. Standing near the back of the diner, she overhears the debate, most of which is focused on her. Tears well up quicker than they ever have before.

"Stop!" Aurora says weakly. No one hears. "I can't... They won't be quiet. They won't stop talking." No one hears. Aurora grabs her head. "Daddy? Belle?"

Belle hears the weak voice over the arguments. "Aurora? Are you ok?"

"Stop!" Aurora yells before she passes out to the ground and the group finally falls silent.

"Aurora!" Ruby and Belle yell in unison as they rush to the toddler.

"She's still breathing," Ruby says with her head to the Aurora's.

"How does a toddler just faint?" Regina asks.

"Maybe she didn't just faint," Snow adds. "Maybe Maleficent is messing with her mind; triggering something, I mean."

"She did say 'stop' to someone," Emma adds.

"You sure that wasn't to us?" Grumpy suggests.

Belle picks Aurora off the ground and embraces her. "For one thing, there is too much going on for her. We need to get her somewhere she can rest and feel safe."

"In this town?" Regina adds.

"Her dad has got to be exhausted. He probably didn't even notice she came down here."

"I'll take her to the shop with me for a bit," Belle says.

"I'll come with you," Ruby adds.

"Maybe you should try contacting Paige, too. It's weird she didn't get here already. Doesn't she generally sense this stuff?" Emma asks.

"Call us if you find anything?" Belle asks as she hurries out the diner door with Aurora in her arms.

When they get to the shop, Belle lays Aurora on a small bed in the back room and sits beside her. "You don't think Maleficent put her in a sleeping curse, do you?"

"No," Ruby starts, "it looked like she was starting to stir on the way over here. The way I understand it, you are pretty comatose in a sleeping curse. I think she just fainted."

"How do we call for Paige?" Belle asks.

"I think you just call her. Unless it only works with Aurora since she is her charge."

"Paige!" Ruby yells out. "Aurora needs you!"

A brilliant, swirling light appears in the center of the room as Paige materializes in front of them. "What? Is she ok?"

"You tell us," Belle suggests.

Paige kneels beside the bed and rubs Aurora's back. "Aurora, Sweetie, wake up," she says quietly. "Can you hear me?"

Aurora rolls over, facing Paige and slowly opens her eyes. "Paige? Where...?"

"It's ok. Do you feel alright?" Paige asks.

"All the talking came back."

"What do you mean?" Ruby asks, kneeling down beside Paige.

"Paige, it was just like the last time. That time at school," Aurora begins.

Normally, this many people would make Aurora panic, but she feels comfortable with this group. She can feel they all care about her. Aurora pauses, looks at each of them and takes a deep breath.

 **Chapter Twenty-Seven**

In the meantime, everyone else remains behind at Granny's, speculating what is happening with the toddler. Xander finally emerges and joins the conversation, looking for his daughter.

"Ok, then what or who the hell is she and how did she get to this world?" Charming proposes to the room. Blue takes a deep breath to herself and slowly raises her hand. "I know."

"I brought her here," Blue confesses.

Xander looks in shock, "You what?"

Everyone looks to Blue. "Princess Aurora, I brought her to this world."

"I'm pretty sure I saw her come out of her mother," Xander says with his usual sarcasm, but starts to look worried.

"As a fairy in the Enchanted Forest, I worked often within Aurora's kingdom. When her parents found out they were expecting, they knew Maleficent would come after their baby relentlessly. Like you guys, they had a tough decision to make," Blue gestures to Snow and Charming. "They wanted to send her to a world where Maleficent wasn't. On top of that, they didn't even want her to know they were expecting a child out of fear that she would find a way to find her. So, me and a few other fairies came up with a sort of protection spell before anyone knew the Queen was pregnant, sending her to this world to be born into another family where she would be protected and loved."

Xander finds the closest seat to take. "My memories of her? They're fake? Like Dawn's?"

Blue nods, being the only other person in the room who knows who Dawn is.

"And Aurora, is... is she really my..."

"Yes! Absolutely! That was part of the spell. She would be conceived as someone's child to grow up here in this world. It would be much harder for Maleficent to find her that way."

After a bit of silence, Xander leaves the room to sit in the common room of Granny's Bed and Breakfast. Blue joins. The two sit in deep silence for a few more moments.

"I'm sorry you had to find out so suddenly."

"It's ok, it's about Aurora's safety now." He waits a moment. "Can I ask you one more question?"

"Sure."

"Why Anya and I?"

"I saw you two and I just knew," Blue begins with a smile. "Your relationship was true. A little dysfunctional, given your backgrounds, but a lot of love, and most importantly for Aurora when I made the decision, a lot of power surrounding your family. Having the slayer to protect her and powerful witches.. it certainly helped. I didn't know she was going to become a slayer herself, or that this curse was going to hit Storybrooke, or what was going to happen to Anya. That was all out of my control." She pauses, "I know I made the right decision."

Xander and Blue sit in silence. "But she's mine?"

"She is your daughter, Xander, and she always will be."

 **Chapter Twenty-Eight**

"Regina? What are you doing here?" Snow asks Regina. Regina is walking up the hallway, looking into the pre-school classroom. Suddenly acting defensive, "What are _you_ doing here? New curse and you're _still_ a school teacher?"

"You're still living in the Mayor's house." Snow responds calmly.

Regina takes a deep breath and stares back into the classroom. "If we are collaborating, or at least tolerating each other... I need to tell you something."

"What?" Snow asks while Regina continues to stare.

"It's Maleficent. I had her trapped during the original curse. She was in a different form and trapped. Definitely not able to get out. I don't know if we saw her in the last year, but she isn't where I originally put her."

"She could be anywhere... anyone? But, Emma defeated her. She shouldn't be able to..." Snow trails off. Snow also gazes into the classroom, realizing who Regina is concerned about. "Aurora?"

"Yes." Regina responds, keeping her eye on the child.

The door to Granny's opens with a jingle of the door bell. "There's the little princess!" Granny says as she walks out from behind the counter. Aurora runs up to her for a hug. Snow and Regina follow behind. "We need to talk," Snow says as she looks to Granny, Ruby and Belle sitting by the bar. Just as she sits next to them, the door swings open again. "What's up?" Emma asks.

Snow looks to Aurora and mutters to Regina, "Should we talk with her...?"

"Yeah, she should know." Regina says, regrettably.

"What?" Aurora asks, now having moved to Ruby's lap at the bar.

"Regina?" Snow asks, hoping admitting her mistakes will force her to see what she has done to a young life. Regina has always had a real soft spot for children.

"Maleficent may be here," Regina begins. "I trapped her here when I cast the first curse."

"The dragon I fought in the basement of the library?" Emma asks.

"Yes. Anyway, since we don't know what happened in the last year, I'm not sure... I'm not sure if she is here. If she is, she isn't where I trapped her."

"She could be anywhere!" Snow concludes.

Picking up where the conversation is going, "and if I understand vengeance and blood lust the way it works in your world, she is still after..." Emma trails off.

"After Aurora." Belle concludes.

Aurora's eyes open wide as Ruby hugs her a little tighter and Belle strokes her blonde hair. "What does that mean?" Aurora asks.

Ruby grabs Aurora's hands and looks her calmly in the eyes. "Have you ever read the story of Sleeping Beauty or seen the movie?"

"Yes."

"Well, do you remember the evil lady, the sorceress, Maleficent?"

"Yes."

"The one that cursed the princess when she was a baby?" Snow adds.

"Yes," Aurora takes a deep breath and finally concludes, "and I'm that baby." For all the fear she should be feeling, Aurora goes numb.

"Well, wait a minute," Emma says. "Isn't the story that she isn't cursed until she turns 16 or something like that?"

"Yeah, that's the fairy tale version, but we don't actually know. And we don't know what Regina's curse did to Maleficent's... or what this new one did. I mean, Aurora wasn't in Storybrooke when we first arrived. And obviously, she's new to any world. I mean, she's a toddler," Snow speculates.

"So, what should we do?" Belle asks.

"Someone stay with her at all times," Emma begins. "Aurora, do not go anywhere with anyone you do not know. Ruby, can she stay here with you?"

"Of course."

Aurora looks down to the ground, still numb. "What if... if Maleficent shape-shifts and pretends to be someone I know?"

"Smart girl!" Granny exclaims.

"She's got a point," Regina adds. "I mean, if I were to..."

"You would know..." Emma begins.

"I'm just trying to help," Regina says defensively.

"Ok, well, Paige is away for the weekend and Aurora can tell if it's her. Right, Sweetie? Something about being your whitelighter?" Snow asks.

"Yes."

"And her dad is upstairs," Emma adds. "Think she would be stupid enough to go after him again?"

Regina shrugs.

"I think you should stay, too," Ruby suggests to Belle. Belle looks to Snow, Emma and Regina.

"But, Rumple..."

"Actually, it's true. Maybe while we do a little investigating on Maleficent, you can stay here. If she would shape-shift into anyone, it would be one of you. You are the two Aurora is closest to," Regina says.

"But finding Gold?" Emma adds.

"He'll find me," Belle says with a reassuring smile.

Ruby and Belle take Aurora up to Ruby's room in Granny's Bed and Breakfast. Belle sits in a chair in the corner next to the bookshelf and begins to examine Ruby's collection. "You've bought a lot of the books I told you about."

"Yeah," Ruby responds. "I haven't had time to start them yet. Or, at least if I did, I don't remember. I wonder if any of this came with us back home? To the Enchanted Forest, I mean."

Aurora, staring around the room, still slightly numb, walks over and climbs up on Belle's lap. After being bounced around, she is glad to have found two affectionate people in Storybrooke. She misses the constant attention of being Xander and Anya and the entire Scooby gang's only daughter. Belle continues to examine the bookshelf. "You have fairytales as well."

"Yeah, after the curse broke and I re-read them, I kinda wanted to keep them," Ruby and Belle chuckle. Aurora examines the bookshelf. Noticing the little eyes caressing the books, Belle asks, "Would you like me to read you a story?"

Aurora sits silently for a second. "Can you tell me about my mom and dad. I mean, the real ones? I mean, the ones in your world? Are they in here?"

 **Chapter Twenty-Nine**

Staring across the table, Ruby finally gets up the courage to ask, "Have you told Aurora that we have been... you know... _talking_?"

Xander smiles. "I mean, she's seen us... _talking."_

"I just, I don't want her to feel hurt. I can only imagine how strange it is to lose your mother and then see your father... _talking..._ to someone else."

Xander smiles again. "Want me to talk to her?"

Ruby nods coyly. "Before you came to Storybrooke, I became really close to that girl. I don't want to lose her trust or make her think... I mean, her mother..."

"I understand. I'll talk to her tonight and see how she feels."


End file.
